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A Couple Was Arrested At Waffle House For Disputing An Orange Juice Charge

Seems like Waffle House is quickly becoming the International House of Racism.

A couple who disagreed over orange juice charges on their bill at one of the restaurant locations in Fort Walton Beach, Florida landed in handcuffs, says The State. Apparently, as Donald Copeland and Ms. Hart (as they were identified in the police report) waited for their carryout order around 1 a.m. on May 2, they were served orange juice at a higher price than what was indicated on the menu.

Here is the body camera footage of this outrageous wrongful arrest of a Black couple @WaffleHouse. They were arrested for theft & trespassing. They never even received the food. They were overcharged a $1.50 for an orange juice and asked to call customer service. pic.twitter.com/c7a74NhKoH

As the dispute heated up, unidentified Waffle House employees called the police and the couple was met with tasers. The incident was caught on cellphone video and shows a hostile exchange between Copeland and the officer. At one point, the officer can be heard telling Copeland, “Oh I’m gonna put my hands on you, get out here!”

Later, Copeland and Hart were handcuffed before they were released without criminal charges and allowed to pay their bill.

The outcry surrounding the video has led to further calls to #BoycottWaffleHouse. However, the Fort Walton Beach Police Department is standing by its officers’ response to the call.

“We feel it is important to set the record straight,” the department posted to Facebook, releasing bodycam footage. “The cell phone video being shared only shows a small part of the incident and does not include that the individuals detained were released after the situation calmed and the bill in question was satisfied – which is what the officers were trying to achieve from the beginning.”